The Eagle's Gift
Tuma Theatre
devised directed
Adapting the legend to communicate a contemporary message, director Thomas Riccio creates a journey for two Inupiats, who encounter mythological figures from their long abandoned heritage. The journey is both educational and spiritual for the Native pair; they learn about their Native culture through exploration of this mystical world.
The Fairbanks News Miner
SCENE NINE: THE EAGLE MOTHER
The eyes vanish. The fire pit light returns and the couple stares intently into it as if reading it for messages.
Then, the feet of an old bent woman appear as she walks slowly onto the stage.
Pungo becomes quiet and goes to the platform.
The sound of the Eagle Mother's crying song is heard. The old eagle-woman is fully visible. It seems as if she is ill and it is difficult for her to move. Her clothing is ragged and old; her head is bent.
The Eagle Mother is close to death. The Blood Woman hovers over the scene at center. As if seeing a vision in the firepit, the Man and Woman continue to stare into it. They understand why the eagle-woman is crying.
Man: I would not have killed the eagle if I had known that he had a home up here.
Woman: We thought we were going to lose our life. We were afraid.
The Eagle Mother continues her song and ends with a stomping of her feet. Meanwhile Pungo has gone for two benches, which he drags onto the stage.
The Man and Woman suddenly become very ill and stagger as they stand, finally making their way to the benches. With the assistance of Pungo and Blood Woman, the Eagle Mother begins her shamanic trance.
Double drumming occurs. Video images of natural elements appear: water, clouds, northern lights--all are abstracted and posterized.
The Bow and Arrow Men enter with puppets of the Man and Woman. The actions of the puppets mirror and react what has happened to the Man and Woman. Sometimes, the puppets are in the audience, sometimes consoling either the Man or Woman.
The Snake People move with undulations--symbolic of their earth rhythm and mind-body connection. Theirs is a dance of the re-birth of the Man and Woman.
Man: I killed a walrus only for its tusks because I needed money. I left its meat to rot.
Woman: I accepted a necklace from that ivory.
Man: I accepted the ways and beliefs of the Christian missionaries. I accepted that our traditional dances were part of devil worship. Accepted it because that is what my ancestors were told. I know now that it isn't so. It was wrong for me to ignore my own traditions, the traditions of my ancestors.
Woman: I was ashamed to dance traditional songs. I was embarrassed every time I heard them. I thought that life doesn't mean what it used to in the old days.
Man: I accepted that the white man's education was better than what my grandfather wanted to teach me. Now my grandfather is dead.
Eagle Mother: (originally spoken in Greenlandic Inuit by the actor) Return to life, I see you now returning in good health among the living. Name but an instance of the men that you have lain with though you were unclean, all the food you have swallowed, old and new offenses, forbidden occupations exercised, how you lied and cheated others.
Foxes: (in Yup'ik) Pelugcecimavkaqin, Tauva! Let her be forgiven!
Woman: (eyes the men in the audience) I have left the bars with many strangers. Now one of the men I was with contracted AIDS.
Man: I have thought of taking my own life because I think I am not good enough. I didn't really care what happened to me. I kept telling myself nobody cares about me.
Woman: I smoked marijuana because it made me laugh. I thought hangovers and blackouts were normal.
Foxes: (in Yup'ik) Pelugcecimavkarki, Tauva! Let them be forgiven! Tauva!
Eagle Mother: (in Greenlandic Inuit) I see an animal with a crooked leg.
Man: That was the time I was really high. I was mad at everyone so I shot at animals for target practice--I hated everyone, even the animals, even myself.
Foxes: Wiitasgu, tangenngaitaput. Pelugcecimavkaqiu. Tauvra! But never mind, we will not take notice of that. Let him be forgiven. Tauva!
Woman: I put my baby outside because she was crying too much. I didn't know it was so cold out. When I was at the hospital in Kotzebue they said that she was going to die. All I thought was "so what?" Then I will be free to drink some more.
Man: I think about money all the time. I thought that was what really mattered. I thought that the only way to fit in was to have money.
Woman: I was molested by my brother and uncle, and two very old men. This went on for seven years.
Man: I could never talk about my feelings. I always buried my emotions. Even though I hurt so much, I could never get myself to cry. By not showing my emotions I hurt myself and everyone around me.
Woman: I have been wasteful and selfish. Always thinking about myself and not my community. I always felt miserable and that is was somebody else's fault, somebody else's responsibility, not mine.
Dog Pungo begins to breathe heavily, pacing the space and talking in reaction to the revelations of the Man and Woman.
Man: I have not been respectful of my elders, the animals, and myself. I hated my mother for the way she was, for not caring about me. For not hugging me. For always beating me and being drunk. I drank to get back at her.
from The Eagle's Gift
complete Tuma Scripts pdf
